Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not OP, but I'm interested in specifically the low back part. I do all of the activities mentioned and have fairly strong glutes/quads/hamstrings. But my lower back is touchy and gets sore quite frequently, often seemingly as a result of those exercises. Likely part of it is from me slipping into poor form, but if anyone has suggested for targeting low back strength/resiliency/flexibility, I'd love to hear it!

Lower back is part of your core, so core strengthening exercises should help. Pilates and yoga are good options. General stretching may help, too. It could be that your hamstrings and hips are really tight which can affect your lower back.

Also, make sure your form is correct. You shouldn't be arching your back when doing any of those exercises.

PP here. This is very helpful and likely the reason. I have worked with a trainer and generally have good form. But I do neglect core work and have a relatively weak core. I also neglect flexibility work and have always been (genetically?) very tight and inflexible. I'll try focusing on those two things and see if it makes a difference! Thank you.

Anonymous wrote:Not OP, but I'm interested in specifically the low back part. I do all of the activities mentioned and have fairly strong glutes/quads/hamstrings. But my lower back is touchy and gets sore quite frequently, often seemingly as a result of those exercises. Likely part of it is from me slipping into poor form, but if anyone has suggested for targeting low back strength/resiliency/flexibility, I'd love to hear it!

Lower back is part of your core, so core strengthening exercises should help. Pilates and yoga are good options. General stretching may help, too. It could be that your hamstrings and hips are really tight which can affect your lower back.

Also, make sure your form is correct. You shouldn't be arching your back when doing any of those exercises.

Anonymous wrote:Not OP, but I'm interested in specifically the low back part. I do all of the activities mentioned and have fairly strong glutes/quads/hamstrings. But my lower back is touchy and gets sore quite frequently, often seemingly as a result of those exercises. Likely part of it is from me slipping into poor form, but if anyone has suggested for targeting low back strength/resiliency/flexibility, I'd love to hear it!

If you are slipping into poor form then you should decrease the weight you are lifting. Never do an exercise with weight if you can not do it with proper form.

Also, depending on the exercise, always be sure to brace your core and tuck your hips. For bracing core during squats and deadlifts brace like someone is going to punch you in the stomach.

Things like deadlifts can easily injure your back if your form is off- lifting with back instead of hinging/lifting with hamstring and glutes, hips to high when you lift the weight off the ground, leaning too far forward.

Have you ever worked with a trainer? it is hugely helpful to get form right.

Not OP, but I'm interested in specifically the low back part. I do all of the activities mentioned and have fairly strong glutes/quads/hamstrings. But my lower back is touchy and gets sore quite frequently, often seemingly as a result of those exercises. Likely part of it is from me slipping into poor form, but if anyone has suggested for targeting low back strength/resiliency/flexibility, I'd love to hear it!

Squats, lunges- all sorts of variations- front, back, front foot elevated. Bulgarian split squats with your upper body leaning slightly forward. Deadlift- romanian. Squats- goblet to avoid weight on shoulders.

Check out core exercises on FitnessBlender.COm (free) or if you have the Peloton app, look at the core exercises. Lots of lower back exercises - like Supermans - are part of core workouts.

I’m an runner with tight hips and hamstrings and I’ve been adding a lot of lower body Pilates to my routine to strengthen and even out my glutes, hips, lower back and hamstrings. Core too. It’s helping reduce chronic pain and reducing risk of injury. That, and I make sure to do my lower body stretches (about a 5-7 minute routine) most days of the week.

Squats and lunges for your butt. I hate them but they work.

First of all, squats and hip thrusts.

Also, glute bridges, frog pumps, lateral band walk, donkey kicks etc. Resistance bands are an excellent way to maximize the effectiveness of exercising.

Glute Lab is an amazing book by Bret Contreras, aka 'Glute Guy'. Or, watch his videos on Youtube, very enlightening.

Anonymous wrote:Reformer Pilates

How is this a helpful response to OP?

OP I agree with butt lift/back bridges. You could also do crunches, esp with a twist. I’d look online for suggestions (there’s an OTF instructor who posts a ton of instructional videos on how to do exercises correctly on his “training tall” youtube channel and insta).

What kind of other activities to you engage in? If you are doing barre with success but need both variety and cross-training, I would recommend:

Tennis (assuming it would not aggravate your shoulder injury, which depends on the injury -- it could actually help!)
Swimming and water aerobics (great for resistance training and a wonderful outlet as you get older and are more injury prone, or have old injuries that tend to flare up)
Dance (lots of great options that promote whole body health and are great for mobility)
Hiking and climbing (climbing might not be the right choice because of your shoulder, but challenging hiking with a lot of scrambling and elevation changes is great for glutes and back)

Those are off the top of my head. I know don't if maybe you were looking for more at home activities? If that's the case I might just try changing up the barre classes you are doing. I did Bar Method for years and got soooo sick of it but now love Barre3, which is less focused on actually barre exercises and I feel is a better full body workout. Sometimes you just need to switch it up a bit.

I do this thing 4x a day where I put my shoulders on the couch and use my glutes to lift my hips up. 10 straight legged 10 bent knees No idea what they are called.

Reformer Pilates

Buttocks lift

I have SI joint and low back issues. Keeping my glutes and low back strong are key to remaining pain free. I have been doing barre classes for a few years and they've been great and keeping those areas strong, but I am getting soooo bored so need to add variety.

I don't have access to a gym or space for home equipment. I have a shoulder injury, so can't add heavy weights at this point. And, honestly, even though they are strong, my buns could use a little lift in my middle age that I'm just not getting from Barre. Any suggestions?